Usher pulls back the curtain on the intense prep he did for his 2024 Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII halftime show in a new mini-doc that dropped over the weekend. The nearly 11-minute black and white film was shot entirely on an iPhone 15 Pro by director Mike Carson.
“I think everybody is blessed with a talent and a time,” Usher says at the top of the film amid images of the intense dance rehearsals for the 13-minute run through the singer’s legendary catalog. “If you put in the work, people will respect what you do.” What follows is black and white footage of Ush perfecting his dance moves while subtly tweaking the vocals on some of his biggest hits to make sure fans get the ultimate experience.
Viewers also get a glimpse of the “Caught Up” performance from the rehearsal studio to the world’s biggest TV stage, as the singer, his band and crew of dancers dial in the high-flying stunts and intense choreography. The 45-year-old star says the physically demanding prep hits differently two decades into his career. Hence, we see Usher getting a cupping treatment and doing a variety of physical and mental challenges to keep his mind and body in game day shape.
There’s also footage of Usher drilling down into every detail of the performance, offering his team notes on the flow, the camera angles and the sense of intimacy he was hoping to tap into in the performance that aired during the broadcast that broke viewership records. Elsewhere, we see Lil Jon dropping in for a rehearsal of “Yeah!” and Alicia Keys practicing her show-stopping cameo during “My Boo,” in which the old friends work out their playful choreo.
Of course you also get to see Usher putting it on wheels and working out his jaw-dropping rollerskating dance for “OMG.”
“As I put together the songs, like a puzzle piece to represent this type of soulful music, R&B and mixture of this pop that is my own, I think God really blessed me with the right people to help build the artist that I am,” Usher says in the video of the tough task of assembling the super-tight 13-song set list that also included cameos from Will.i.am, Jermaine Dupri and Ludacris. “I’m happy that I’m able to share this moment with them.”
After footage from the performance unspools, a contemplative Usher describes the feeling he had on that massive stage, saying, “You’ll see me from time-to-time look up at the top row. I’m thinking about the little 11-year-old kid that dreamed some day I could play on that big stage.”
Watch Usher’s Super Bowl LVIII halftime show mini-doc below.
